5 Things You Didn’t Know About Acai Berry

You might think it’s another one of those Superfoods which are way more nutritious than any other berries you can find in the supermarket.  It tastes sweet and so fruity. And more importantly, it looked so ‘instagrammable’ with other fruits as decor. So it seems okay to think that a bowl of acai berry, which costs as much as a cup of Starbucks ice-blend, is totally worth it. It’s so rare that you can’t really find it here in Singapore except in the Amazon forest in Brazil.

But there’s totally more to that. It’s more than just a berry with a higher percentage of antioxidants and dietary fibre.

Source: poppynco.me

1. Only about 15% of the acai fruit is edible.

Unlike blueberries or any other berries (which are commonly known to us), acai berry only has a small percentage of fruit pulp and skin which is edible. The seed itself is huge! So you will need a lot of acai berries to produce sufficient pulp to fill your cup. And it is a laborious process to harvest the fruit from the tree itself. No wonder it is a little more expensive.

And acai berry itself taste a little sourish. To make it more appetizing, you could add in some honey to sweeten it. It makes a world of difference!

2. Acai berry is high in fat.

I wasn’t aware of this initially as I thought that the berries, in general, contains almost no fat at all. But in the case of Acai berry, which is similar to the palm family of species like oil palm and coconut, it is actually a source of fat.

For instance, one cup of fresh, raw blueberries provides 84 calories and no fat. On the other hand, one cup of Acai berries provides 125 calories and 2.4 grams of fat. Acai berry is actually rich in medium chain fatty acids like oleic acid (omega-9) and linoleic acid (omega-6). When left frozen in the freezer, the oil layer actually floats up and cool. 

At home, I started making Acai berry bowls from the fresh pulp. And the plastic packaging that wraps around the frozen Acai berry pulp would feel oily.   

3.  Acai is often marketed as a miracle diet pill.

I am not too sure how a fruit which is high in fat would make a good weight loss supplement. Perhaps, all Superfoods, to the world, is a weight loss supplement. It is not to say that Acai has zero benefits for those trying to lose weight, but it is wrong to say that Acai helps to reduce kilos magically. Acai is often marketed as a solution to weight loss to help detox and cleanse the body. These claims are not yet proven.

Acai is a rich source of antioxidants and dietary fiber which might boost your health, but that doesn’t equate to weight loss. 

4. Acai berry is highly perishable

Then you would be able to enjoy making Acai berry bowl right at home.